Around 20 MPs from all political parties visited Griffiths Family Farms, a major egg producing and packaging business that employs more than 200 people, for their first farm tour as part of the NFU鈥檚 Food and Farming Fellowship Scheme.
The scheme launched earlier this year in partnership with sponsoring organisations ABP UK, Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), Arla Foods, Barfoots, British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) and Fareshare, and it will showcase the industry and enable participating MPs to see firsthand how sustainable and affordable food gets from field to fork.
BEIC is sponsoring the visit on 6 December, which saw the politicians visit the Griffiths鈥� family whose established Shropshire business is unsurpassed in poultry sector expertise and innovation.
The Griffiths family, whose team pack more than 750 million eggs a year, at Oaklands Farm, Edstaston, talked the MPs through production, on farm biosecurity and its importance, green technology and the sustainable removal of poultry manure.
The MPs also took part in egg grading at the business, saw quality checks being made, egg shell classifications and how it fits into the retail, food service and egg product sectors.
The tour also focused on the family鈥檚 agri-development work to improve welfare, flock health and efficiency, as Griffiths Farms work hard to promote the highest standards of animal welfare and balance food production with positive environment outcomes.
All Oaklands eggs are now marked with the method of production, the country of origin and the farm鈥檚 unique identity number. The move required all Oaklands Farm suppliers to stamp their eggs on the farm of origin prior to delivery to the Oaklands Farm packing centre, creating a crucial traceability check for shoppers.聽
NFU member Elwyn Griffiths, owner of Griffiths Family Foods, said: 鈥淎s a diverse enterprise we are founded on strong principles of protecting the environment, the welfare of animals and producing high quality food for the nation.
鈥淲e have been farming for more than 60 years producing eggs to outstanding levels of safety, under the British Lion code of practice.
鈥淚n 2008 we seized the initiative to become the first major UK packer to stamp 100% of our eggs on farm.
鈥淚n the face of everything that is going on politically it remains vital we engage politicians, address the issues important to our farms and show them the true contribution our businesses make.鈥澛�
Mark Williams, BEIC chair, said: 鈥淭he British egg industry is arguably one of the most successful sectors of British farming, completely unsubsidised, market driven and consumer led.
鈥淭he sector employs around 10,000 people directly, and over 13,000 people are employed indirectly through a range of ancillary businesses that support the sector.
鈥淭he value of Lion eggs at retail is over 拢1bn a year, so it is great to see MPs engaging with our sector, which plays a crucial role in providing a safe, affordable, high quality nutritious food product for our nation.鈥澛�
NFU poultry board chair James Mottershead said it was the first farm tour as part of the fellowship scheme and he wanted to thank the Griffiths family for hosting.
He said: 鈥淣ow more than ever it remains essential we continue to engage with our politicians and give them the tools, knowledge and understanding needed so they are able to highlight the critical role of food security in delivering national security and the growth and investment required for the future of British farming.
鈥淭he MPs will speak up in their constituencies but also in Westminster on some of the big issues impacting our industry which forms the backbone of the UK鈥檚 largest manufacturing sector 鈥� food and drink 鈥� contributing more than 拢146 billion to the economy.
鈥淔armers and growers need that commitment and support from Westminster so they can continue producing safe, sustainable and affordable homegrown food alongside caring for the environment and ultimately remaining viable for generations to come.鈥�